Jack Frost or Jokul Frosti
by Grey-Skye-eyes
Summary: When the Avengers learn of a new form of energy, they are sent out to discover what is causing it. What they find will change everything thing they think they know about their world. With Thor calling Jack a god, they must discover the truth before the world falls at the hand of a rising evil. There is just one problem, Jack can't remember who he is. Way to go Hulk...
1. Chapter 1

`````````````````Author's notes````````````````

Okay y'all so here is the deal. I have two other stories going on right now… but I have to say, I just couldn't help my self any longer. After reading every fan-fiction of this crossover I just had to take a crack at it myself. Mainly because I thought the concept was beyond cool. I couldn't decide which way to take this story so if any of y'all want it to turn out a certain way then drop me some idea's. I am always up for suggestions.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or Avengers.

* * *

Chapter 1: A new threat?

Dark rolling shadows rushed through out the streets of Frankfurt Germany. The hour was late and all who could be indoors were. For a summer night the air was unusually chilly; the town echoed with the eerie call of a hundred unseen stallions. Children shivered under their covers as their parents peered out their windows wearily.

No matter how hard they tried they could not locate the source of their distress. Most gave up the search and elected to block out the windows with thick blankets; the hope that if they could not be seen they would be safe. However, if they had believed in a certain spirit of winter they would see him flitting through the sky making sure they were just that.

Jack speed across the night sky at an impressive speed, his eyes combing the ground below for the telltale signs of Nightmares. It had been three days and three nights since he had started this mad hunt; and even after all this time he still had not gotten any closer to completely ridding this town of its terrors.

This all would have been so easily taken care of if it had been any other time of year. With it being summer the morning heat only hampered his progress giving the beasts the time they needed to regroup. By the time night had fallen again they had fanned out and started the process over. At this point Jack was wearing down and he would soon have to call in some back up; much to his displeasure.

Catching a sudden movement from the left Jack dove down to an alleyway where the lights had all been broken. Sand hooves pawed at the cobblestone road, a snort of frustration ringing out into the open.

"Where are you?" Jack whispered to the darkness, his staff poised and ready to strike.

When nothing happened he turned his back and made like he was leaving, that was all it took. Attempting to catch him off guard the Stallion bolted from the shadows at the boys retreating form.

Jack; expecting the attack, had spun around and blasted the mare with a bolt of frost. Like lightning the magic stuck out and hit the horse with enough force to make it explode. Sand and ice covered the alley like a confetti ball gone wrong.

Noticing a loss of one of their own the group of blackened beast emerged from all around. Each horse was evenly spaces so as to not leave an opening for the frost covered boy to escape. At least that is what they thought.

"So you want to play a game do you? All right, catch me if you can!" With a cocky laugh Jack shot into the air. With the help of the wind he soared across the azure sky away from the town.

The heard began to converge on him as he angled his descent towards the Black Forrest. With a whoop he plunged into the tall trees and out of sight, once out of sight he took to the bushes and hid. Not because he was scared, but because he was waiting. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

* * *

Steve Rogers briskly walked down one of the many hallways of the helicarrier. His mind racing with the possibilities of what their new mission was going to be. It had to be something very important to have called all the Avengers back together.

True, they did all live together at Stark Tower thanks to Tony's renovations. However that was not the same as this was; there they relaxed and let loose while here it was serious.

"Rogers so glad you could finally join us." Fury's voice drifted to the Captain's ears. Bringing his head up he glanced around the room to spot the team at an oval table. Everyone, with the exception of Thor was present and accounted for.

"Where's Thor?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Taking care of business back on Asgard, he sent word that he will arrive as soon as he can. In the meantime you all will have to start the mission without him." Fury turned his attention back to the center of the group when a mock cough echoed out.

"Uh-um yes and what is this mission exactly? After all you are ready to send us in to a possible war zone with little to no information isn't that right?" Tony quipped.

"That is exactly what I am doing."

"Care to run that by me again?"

"Stark, as you know we have been monitoring the earth for any sign of potential hostile energy signatures after last year's incident with the Chitauri."

"You mean alien attack." Stark interjected.

Fury gave him an evil eye but then progressed with a sigh, "Yes, the alien attack."

"Monitoring? So what you have been using the same technological concepts for tracking the Tesseract to search out these new forms?"

"Hmm, well sort of, you see Dr. Banner we have been thinking. If gamma radiation was being giving off by the Tesseract, then what other forms of energy could we track if we alter the fields?"

"I'm assuming this idea was conceived after our battle." Romonaff stated matter of factually.

"Yes, some of our equipment picked up an energy field reading after Stark destroyed the Chitauri ship. The energy from the ship was the same used in their weapons; it is safe to bet there our other dangerous energies out there that we are still unaware of."

"So I'm guessing that means you've found something." Rogers more stated then questioned.

Furry turned from the group and approached a group of blank screens; with a slight nod to one of the operators various images flashed into existence. "It would seem that Frankfurt Germany has been experiencing some unusual activity. Scanners indicate that a strange energy spiked across the skies around 4:38a.m and expanding; this was Five days ago."

"Wait this has been happening for three days and are only now informing us of it?" Steve rushed over to the screens and began to scan it for information.

"We did not see at as relevant at the time."

"Why not, it says here that the people in the area have been having trouble with an 'invisible' invader. It's dated for five days ago!"

Fury pointed to the screen Roger was reading from, "Not 'invader' but 'invaders'." Moving his arm down to a new screen he pointed to a different article. "However, in this article from three days ago that is no longer the case."

This time it was Clint who had the question, "What's changed?"

"If our instruments are correct then I believe it has something to do with the appearance of this second energy signature." A thoughtful expression crossed across the man's face, "Ever since it made its appearance the original signature has slowly began to vanish. So the question remains, what is the cause behind these readings and should we be a concerned."

Natasha crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair, "So we scout the area until we locate said energies, then what?"

"Try to detain them, I want to know more about what we are dealing with."

Clint looked to Natasha and spoke what was on both of their minds, "and if they can't be detained?"

"Then we will take appropriate measure to deal with them. Now gather your gear, a plane is already prepped and awaiting you on the landing pad."

Fury turned his back to the group and shouted a few orders to the crew. Taking it as there was nothing left to say the team made their way out of the room.

"You know, I think this is just a ploy by Fury to see if we heal when he calls."

Steve rolled his eyes at the billionaire's remark, "Sure Tony. That explains all the articles and energy readings."

"Hey, he is the head of a secret organization that manages a band of superheroes. I think he can manage to embellish a few papers and convince a town that it needs help." Tony smirked at the idea even though he knew it was false.

"Fury may be known for doing a lot of things, but creating a false incident isn't one of them." Clint chuckled aloud.

"Yeah Tony, even if he did there I doubt he could make up those readings. There is something very peculiar about them."

Tony looked at Banner with a twinkle of mischief in his eye, "So you noticed it to?"

"Alright boys you can discuss it on the ship, for now let's just get suited up and go." Steve patted Stark on the back before brushing past them. Not bothering to hear what Tony yelled-which was most likely a childish crack at him being a motherly figure-he turned the corner and rushed to his room.

The other's may have been acting like this all wasn't serious, but he knew better. Everyone was on edge and they were dealing with it in their own quirky way. It was all because of this strange force they were about to go face. He didn't know what it was or why; but he got the feeling they their world was about to change. Again.

* * *

```Author's notes```

Okay there you have it for chapter one. Feel free to R&R. I tried not to make anyone to ooc, if it starts to happen along the way don't kill me. I haven't delved into the marvel world before so I am still testing the waters. J See you in chapter 2 my little clouds!

~Skye out


	2. Chapter 2

~~Author Notes~~

Oh my….you guys are all AWESOME! Seriously, I was not expecting this big of a turnout for just the first chapter. You all are too kind, thank you so much. To all of you who have followed, favorite, and reviewed you rock.

Yes, to answer the question of one of my reviewers the other Guardians will be appearing as well. It isn't about just Jack. (Though he is the main focal point along with the Avengers)

Thank you for the information bethanytokitoki, I will work on that.

This chapter is kind of long, but everything happens for a reason. At least it does in my stories.

!* This was SUPPOSED to be posted last Friday but for some reason fan fiction was not letting me on. This is the first time in the last four days that I was able to get it to work. Kept saying things like "server code ####; server not available." And "There is no server here to accept your request." I tries with three different computers; talk about confusing. Has anyone else had that problem, or was it just me? *

Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or Avengers.

* * *

Chapter 2: I didn't see him!

Bruce finished buckling into seat with dread playing across his face; no matter how in control of the other guy, he was always felt uncomfortable on these Quinjets. Tony was standing in front of him fully clad in his armor, but left his helmet in his arms, standing next to him was Steve.

"Oh…I still don't think this is a good idea." Banner mumbled weakly.

"Nonsense, this is a brilliant idea. Best Fury ever had." Stark retorted.

Banner smirked and rolled his eyes, he was preparing to retort when Clint spoke from the front of the plane. "Don't worry Bruce we will be there in no time, just bear with us for a little while. I'll make sure to make the flight as smooth as possible."

"I'd appreciate that very much."

"Everyone ready?" Natasha called from the passenger seat, with a quick glance to the back and a thumbs up from Steve she activated the plane.

Clint flipped the necessary switches to get the jet into the air, with a nice smooth humming in the air they were off.

Those who were standing had to brace themselves from the unexpected g-force. Banner's hand grasped the bottom of his chair in a death grip, his breath hitched in his chest. After a few quick turns here and there they had leveled out to a nice cruising speed.

"Sorry about that, got hit by a head wind." Clint hollered back into the cabin.

"A little warning would have been nice." Stark looked to Banner who was trying his best to still his beating heart. "You alright there big green?"

The man merely shook his head up and down and left it at that. Either he didn't trust himself to say anything or he lost his voice briefly; Tony wasn't sure which it was but decided not to comment. Instead he moved on to a topic they were all thinking about, "So anyone want to make a guess as to what we will encounter?"

"Another crazed god." Clint stated dryly from the front of the plane.

"Aliens." Natasha supplied.

"Terrorist group." Stevie stated earning a huff from Tony.

"What?"

"Really Cap-sickle? After all of the enemies that we have faced recently-on top of those strange energy readings-the best thing you can think of is Terrorist."

"Hey, I'm a realest. Not everything that endangers earth comes from an outside source."

Natasha hummed in thought, "True. So if we had name a faction what would it be?"

"Well let's look at the facts and see what we know." Clint suggested. "First there is the strange energy readings, both of which were previously unknown to us until recently. Meaning they don't want to be noticed."

"If that is true then I wouldn't blame them. After we all but 'announced' our presence to the world last year who would want to make a move." Stark pointed out rather uppity.

"I was thinking about that actually." Banner chimed in this time. "Why would someone who possess enough power to damage a town, and show up on our energy scanners but be invisible to the entire populace."

"See I was thinking the same thing." Tony's brow furrowed as he entered into scientist mode. "It could be possible that they are using a form of cloaking similar to that used on the SHIELD Helicarrier. However if looked at closely one could discern what it is due to the distortion in area around them."

"If the people of the town couldn't see them then there is a good chance that they either have a more advanced form of cloaking; or they are using a different form of power than we are aware of." Banner finished his thought and looked over the group. "If that's the case we may need to think of a new way of approaching this."

"I already have JARVIS equipped with the new scanning frequency so I locating them won't be an issue."

"That's easy for you Stark, but for the rest of us without a television screen in front of them we have to take precaution."

Tony's eye twitched at the Captain's jab, "Don't worry I'll hold your hand for you."

"No thanks I don't play with toys."

"Alright boys, stop your bickering we are coming in to our destination."

"What already?!" Banner looked more relieved than he was previously.

"What?" Natasha grinned back at Bruce with a pride in her eyes. "This plane can go fast when it wants to."

"Not to mention the pilot's knew what they were doing." Clint smirked as well.

"I'll give you all the praise you want once we land." Banner chuckled back.

A lot smoother than taking off the plane landed in a clearing not far from the last known location of the mysterious attacks. Clint and Natasha switched it off while Steve dropped the hatch. That was all Banner needed to see to unbuckle and dart outside.

With a sigh of relief he took in the sights around him; the sun was beginning to rise in the distance illuminating the horizon wonderfully. A small town could be seen in the distance and not far beyond that a forest edge came into view.

"So first we recon the town. Talk to the people, we need to get as much information out of them as we can. Don't rule anything or anybody out, if they say they know something take note. If anyone gets a good lead contact the others. Let's take care of this swiftly so we can get back home." Steve stated their orders and everyone took off into different portions of the Town.

* * *

Banner elected to scout out the surrounding area and buildings rather than talk to the crowds, Steve didn't object to the suggestion. After all, it would be unwise to have the other guy make an appearance in front of an already tense town. Ever so slowly his eyes scanned the damage made to the buildings and street. It was clear that this was no accident caused by a natural disaster, even though ice seemed to cling to some of the buildings.

Ice? Edging his way over to the shadow of the building he took a closer look at said ice. Thin layers of ice with fern like frost patterns coated the entire wall. Encased inside was small black-iridescent sand stones. Bruce's removed his glasses and stared in disbelief when the sands began to pulsate and shake.

Almost instantly his mind went into scientific mode, every little detail about the strange substance being noted. If he didn't know any better he would say that this sand was the energy reading they were looking for; which meant the ice covering was probable the second reading.

He wasn't sure what the others have discovered within this town, but he was sure he hit the Jack pot.

* * *

Upon entering the town Black widow and Hawkeye were immediately surrounded by a group of citizens. Most of them were muttering on about things they couldn't quite understand. Between the sudden change in language and the multiple voices speaking at once they were in a bind.

Clint grimaced as a young lady started ranting in his ear before he finally couldn't take it anymore, "Entschuldigung, sprechen sie englisch?"

The girl paused then smiled softly, "Oh yes, I speak English."

Clint sighed with relief and began his interrogation; he knew a little bit of German but not enough to hold multiple full blown conversations. Widow followed his example but expanded her options to languages other than just English. Luckily a few people spoke the languages she knew making it an easy task. Anyone who didn't speak the language merely translated what they knew though those who could.

To their dismay however all the people seemed to know very little of what was happening to their town. Some claimed to have heard a stamped of wild angry horses while other claimed to have heard a joyous laughter.

Most complained of the commotion happening at nighttime, while a few claimed to have seen strange happenings throughout the duration of the day. Parents noted the strange behavior shifts in all of the children in the village. Clint took note of it, but Natasha brushed it off claiming that children would often have a torrent of emotions when adults become panicked.

All thought the information was good, it was not really all that helpful. They had hoped that what they gathered would connect with what the other would find.

* * *

Steve had a little more of an issue. Children came out of the wood-works squealing about how first the 'Guardian's' showed up and now it was the Avenges. He was curious to find out who these 'Guardian's' were but, as soon as he mentioned he had lost them. All the kids went on a tangent about how Jack Frost and the Sandman came to their rescue.

'They were saved…by fairy-tales?' he mentally gowned. Quickly he scolded himself for the thought, he knew better than to write them off as idle chatter. Children may have had wild imaginations, but if they aren't in trouble they will tell the truth. It was for this reason alone that he took note of all they said, even if it did sound ridiculous.

* * *

Stark on the other hand didn't seem to have any issues gathering information. What with JARVIS helping, he was able to locate every area hit by their strange foe and then some. He was able to come to the conclusion that the source of the readings were no longer in the town. In fact they were not far from his current location.

Smirking behind his iron mask he opened a com link to the other Avengers, "Well what do we have here."

Steve's voice was the first to chime in to the remark, "Tony? What is it, what did you find."

"Looks like our little friends have been taking a walk in the woods."

"Stark do you have a visual?" Clint chimed in.

"Not yet, I have an energy trail. I'm going to follow it."

"Wait Stark not yet, we don't' know what we are dealing with." Rogers shouted over the link.

Seeing as this was a good time to intervene, Banner decided to recount his findings. "I hate to pick sides but I think Steve is right on this one. Tony, I found something I want you to take a look at. "

"Banner needs Tony's advice, that can't be good." Natasha chided.

"I heard that." He scoffed in fake hurt.

"Alright, everyone head over to Bruce. We will go from there." Steve's voice click off leaving the coms silent.

Tony blasted off the building he was standing on and made his way over to Bruce.

* * *

Once everyone had regrouped and recounted their findings, Bruce pointed out his strange little discovery. At first no one knew what he was talking about, but once Tony got a good look he was gone. Half of the words that sprang from his lips went over all but Bruce's head.

"Uh, could you probable repeat that, In English perhaps?"

Tony gave a look to Steve that could only be categorized as 'are you stupid' before going on another rant. "This substance looks to be sand, but holds a different energy layout. It is as if it is a living organism rather than a speck of dust. It goes the same for the ice. Although it looks and feels like normal frozen water it holds a pulse of energy. Both object have the same read out as what we seen at the ship."

"I came to the same conclusion when I was analyzing it. I would love to take some samples and see what I can find out but…"

"Leave that to me." Tony activated the small laser located on his right arm and aimed it towards the building. A small beam of red impacted the ice melting a small chunk; that was a mistake.

Right when the ice had started to melt the sands held with in reanimated. Like a blast it shot out form the wall and into the air. Tony and Bruce were too close to react quick enough and were blasted out of the way.

Steve's mind processed it all just in time to jump in front of Natasha and raise his shield. Barton was also quick enough to process the blast and managed to jump behind a tree. Quickly the sands gathered in the sky over the group, it pushed and pulled itself into a desired shape before settling down.

Clint peeked out from behind the tree as Natasha and Steve looked over his shield.

"What the hell is that?" Steve blurted out.

"It appears to be a horse, but I have been fooled before." Natasha replied with mild amusement.

"Have you seen anything like it before?" he asked without moving his eyes from the strand creature.

"No." was all she could say.

"Well whatever it is it doesn't look friendly." Clint voiced while nocking an arrow. Snorting angrily the stallion reared before darting off into the direction of the Black Forrest.

"Well at least it didn't go to the village." Steve looked over to see Tony rolling over, a slight moan could be heard escaping his lips. "Stark you all right?"

He received a hand wave before moving his attention over to Bruce…oh crap. Bruce was gone, "Did any one see where Dr. Banner went?"

A deep hearty roar sounded in the direction of the forest. "Great, the Hulks out."

"My guess is he went after the beast, should we follow?" Natasha asked. Although she held an inquisitive yet slightly impassive face, it was clear that she really wasn't too keen on hanging with the Hulk.

"Yes, Stark already picked up on readings from the Forrest. If the beast is heading that way, then it is probably trying to regroup. We don't know what their capable off; he may need our help."

"I'll shoot ahead and meet you guys there." Stark stated rather that suggested.

"Alright, the three of us will head there on foot. Don't forget what Fury said about detaining Tony!" Steve shouted. Weather Tony heard him was irrelevant, odds are this new being was not going to come in quietly. They would have to fight.

* * *

Jack remained hunkered down in the underbrush as a few more Stallions passed overhead, his eyes remained transfixed on their every move. When one broke to far from the heard he shot out and took it down. Once eliminated he went back into hiding, "This is going to take forever." He mumbled half-heartedly.

Rustling in the distance caught his attention as it was moving way to fast to be any normal animal, but too slow to be Bunnymund. Curiosity bubbled inside him, the need to know what it was driving him from his hiding spot. With the help of the wind he was out of the bushes and into the air. Nightmares were nipping at his heals but he ignored their presence; he couldn't help but feel that there was something big out here.

Angered at being ignored one stallion lost its form and rushed him as pure sand. Caught off guard Jack was hit square in the back and tossed to the ground. Hissing slightly from the impact Jack scrambled to his feet as the sands dove down for another strike.

Strike. Dodge. Strike. Doge. A ballet of attacks filter though out the air as Jack and the Nightmares tussled. Animals ran from the area and the sky began to darken with billowing winter clouds from Jacks attacks. As the battle raged on the unknown presence was getting closer to him. Its existence shook the earth and agitated the wind; this in turn made Jack's mind race with curiosity.

When a deep and thunderous roar echoed off the trees, all the curiosity that was inside of the young spirit morphed into concern. Never has he hear a beast call such as that, and he has been around a very long time. Panic overtook him and his flight instincts kicked in.

Pushing off the ground he blasted away a nearby stallion and dodged through the opening. With the Nightmares blocking the air and the forest thick with debris he bounced from tree to tree like a pinball. He knew he had to take care of Pitch's Nightmare, but he couldn't do that when there was something much worse in the area.

A stallion appeared in the distance and began to charge him. Undaunted he narrowed his eyes and continued forward. Just as he was about to strike the Stallion reared in fear and disintegrated; now standing in the spot the beast was in he caught sight of what had made it retreat. A large green fist was headed straight for that location.

Jack's body froze as he knew he couldn't escape the impact, "This is going to hurt."

* * *

End Chapter 2

~~Author's Notes~~

Alright that is Chapter 2! Woot! So the Avengers are learning little bits and pieces of the puzzle, and Jack just "encountered" a green fist. Care to guess whose fist it was? Lol Well keep an eye open. The next Chapter is coming to you very soon! *Given that the site doesn't mess up on me again.

Quick Thanks to Black Robin, Artemisgirl91, bethanytokitoki, Book Soldier, Yuurei no Chu, Bebuzzu, guest 1, guest 2, and littleheartache for your reviews. There were pleasant to see. Again thanks to all of you who followed and favorited.

Feel free to R&R. I look forward to seeing you all in Chapter 3!

~Skye out


	3. Chapter 3

~Author's Notes~

Fudge Bucket Horse Monkeys! I am super duper sorry y'all. I have been so out of it lately that I completely forgot when the last time it was that I had updated all of my stories. It wasn't until this moment that I realized it. So I deserve a good beating from the avengers on your behalf….good thing I am a cloud.

***THWACK!**POW!*TWOING!**ZAP!*BOOM!*BANG!***

"Sir, I do believe that it would be best if we left the Author alive if you insist on having this story continued."

Thank…you…Jarvis…!*Tear*. On with the next Chapter.

Chapter 3: It wasn't my fault

Hulk stared down at the limp form of a teenager at his feet, his face scrunched in confusion. One moment he was preparing to attack the black sand beast and the next his fist was colliding with cold child.

A rough whinny resounded in the woods around him snapping him out of his stopper. Standing tall he threw back his head and released a challenging roar. It was meet by silence at first, then slowly a melody of whinnying and hooves pawing the dirt meet his ears. His head swiveled back and forth looking for his target, it did not take long for his eyes to light upon one such enemy.

Standing in a clearing not far from his location a Nightmare pawed the dirt mockingly. As if daring him to come out into the open, a dare the Hulk was all but willing to accept.

With three quick bounds he was on the beast in seconds, but unlike last time it did not try to dodge or evade. Not caring as to why it remained he smashed his fist down into the creature effectively rendering it down to a pile of dust.

As soon as the creature was down another entered into the clearing to challenge him, then another, and then another. Rather than taking him on as a group they were approaching him one on one. It was quite sad actually, none of them would be able to effectively take on the Hulk as individuals. Yet here they were throwing themselves at the raging monster with out so much as attempting to fight back. It was almost as if they were a distraction.

Hulk, even though he was a rage monster, still had enough sense about him to realize something was up. All around him there were the shadowy creatures, he could feel there presence deep inside his bones. It was infuriating how they were there but he couldn't get rid of them.

As he prepared to attack another beast movement in the distance caught his green eyes. Snapping his head in that direction he noticed three Nightmares closing in on the boy he had attacked earlier.

Making a snap decision he rushed over to the boy's aid, it was that little action that seemed to have triggered the Nightmares into action. Clearly they were just trying to distract him earlier; what ever there reason being this boy was their target, not him.

Nightmare stallions from all over the forest charged at him with brutality and determination. It was a complete one-eighty from how they were attacking him earlier. Growling deep he swung his massive arms into a flurry of punches.

Swipe after swipe he was taking them down, but for every mare that fell a new one would take his place. As he turned his back to focus on one set, a new set was attempting to take the boy. Taking up a position over the boy he rooted himself to the spot and assaulted anything that dared come to close.

While focusing on a new onslaught from the front, a large Nightmare charged from the back. Hulk remained blissfully unaware as the creature was blasted away before it could reach him. With the all too familiar sound of whirring energy building up Hulk gave a cocky smirk.

Stark had made it to the party and was not even pausing to ask what was going on before attacking. Beams of energy tore through the ranks as he lifted his arms towards the beasts.

"What's your status stark?" the voice of Rogers echoed over the com link.

"Well currently it's 'in a relationship', but it may change here in the near future."

"Stark!" Steve barked.

"Don't get your tights in a twist, the big guy and I got this covered."

"Covered? Sound more like a small war is raging over there." Natasha's voice rolled over the com.

"Just a bunch of pony needing to be broken, if you want to do anything come and get this kid Banner is guarding so we can fight seriously."

"Kid? What's a kid doing there?" Clint voiced, slight worry lacing his voice.

"From the looks of it I'd say napping…or unconscious. No matter how you look at it the kids out cold and we need to evac him."

There was a pause before Steve's voice rang out over the com with an assertive air, "Alright new plan, while Stark and Hulk keep them busy on the ground I'm going to need Barton topside. See if you can't give us some cover fire while Natasha and I get the boy out of the area."

With a short affirmative the group was set on there new course. Barton was in the trees quick as a flash and quickly made his way to their destination. Widow and Captain had picked up the pace and made it to the battle a lot sooner than they had though.

No sooner did they reach their destination were they assaulted by a group of mares. "Where are they all coming from?" Natasha called out.

"Not sure, stay on your toes everyone!" Steve called out as an arrow whizzed by his head and embedded into a charging stallion. With a quick cry of shock it disintegrated leaving only the arrow behind.

Silently arrows poured from the treetops landing on there intended targets. Steve realized the pattern without being told and took that as a hint to get moving. Giving a signal to push forward, Romanoff headed straight for their two comrades battling a hoard.

Quickly she scanned the area until her eyes lighted upon the prone figure by their feet. With fluid motions she slid past the horses with the greatest of ease until she reached her target. Hot on her hills Steve pulled up beside her and began to assess the boy's condition.

The first thing that caught his eye was the stark white hair perturbing from atop his head. What was odd was how it looked natural and not dyed, but that was an issue for later. Next he took notice of his deathly pale complexion; this was never a good sign.

Gently he placed a hand upon the kid's forehead and instantly felt the biting cold of his skin. Moving lower to the thought he felt for a pulse but was hard pressed to find one; he would have thought the boy had passed on if not for the slight rise and fall of his chest.

"What happened to him?" Romanoff questioned over the battle noise.

"Don't know; found him there with banner hovering over him. I'd ask him but as you can see," Stark pointed to the massive green man smashing a dozen more sand beasts "he's a little preoccupied at the moment."

"We can find that out later," Snaking his arms around the boy Steve hauled him up into a tight grip. Again he was startled, but this time by how light the kid weighed. "For now let's just get him out. Stark! Hulk!"

The two men gave the captain a side glance at his call, "Take them out."

Like a switch being flipped the intensity level of the battle more than doubled. Hulk had abandoned his guarding state and went to full on attack mode. Stark also went on the offensive, with Jarvis giving him energy signature readings he was able to blast the hidden beast with near perfect accuracy.

He was only beaten in that department by the Hawk that lurked in the trees above. With the kid, Steve and Natasha out of the area the gloves were officially off. One after another his arrows flew straight and true, not one missed their unsuspecting targets.

At this point the Nightmares were torn about what they should do. Should they focus their assault on taking out the mortals who appeared? Should they continue to pursue and bring in Jack like they were ordered? Or should they flee back to the shadows and inform their King of what transpired.

It was in there confusion that the Avengers were able to reduce their numbers into the lower double digits. With only twenty or so remaining they decided to count their loss and retreat.

Stark noticed the change and hung back from the pursuit, it was clear that they had won today. Though what it is they won he was still unsure of.

Hulk had continued the pursuit for awhile, but eventually lost them when they vanished amongst the shadows. He vented his rage on a few innocent trees and then returned to the group as Banner.

Stark had managed to attain a few grain samples along with an enormous amount of energy readings from their encounter with the stallions. Even without actually detaining one of them, he was sure that the data collected would be more than enough for them to dissect.

However, this was only one of the energy readings they were sent to find. His sensors were so overloaded with the one signature, that the second was practically nonexistent. In fact even now Jarvis was having an issue locating the other source. It was as if the source was right there with them, but at the same time not there at all.

"Jarvis, reconfigure the sensors to eliminate the known signature and boost the output for a better resolution quality. That other source has to be around here somewhere."

"Sir, all sensors indicate that the second signature reading is within a 100 meters of this location." A small map appeared on Starks heads up display with a light blue circle encompassing the area indicated.

"That can't be right, Jarvis this shows our present location," He scanned the area around they were in and frowned. "There isn't anything else here. Run the scans again."

Doing as he was told Jarvis rescanned the area, "It would seem I was able to narrow the radius from a hundred meters to fifty meters in this location." Once again he highlighted the same location on the map, only this time with a smaller circle.

Stark gave out a frustrated sigh that caught the attention of the other Avengers. Banner was the first respond to Tony's antics, "What's wrong?"

"Jarvis's scan shows the second energy signature within a fifty meter radius of our present location."

Banner narrowed his brow and fidgeted nervously, he really didn't feel like becoming the other guy again today. Hawkeye quickly began to scan the area for anything that looked suspicious or out of place.

"I don't see anything in the trees or the area surrounding us." He looked at Stark with a serious face. "Is it possible that your scanners are wrong?"

Though they couldn't see his face they were all pretty sure Stark had a look of horror at the accusation. "No. I have made sure to eliminate any outside frequencies that could interfere with the scanning process. I even had Jarvis run the scan a second time to verify the results. Whatever is creating that second reading is here."

"I believe he is right. After all, those creatures from earlier seemed to meld with the shadows and seemingly vanish. What's to say that this source couldn't do the same?" Banner commented to the group.

"If that's the case then it's possible that we may never find it." Barton muttered, he really hated not being able to see these guys.

"So what you're saying is this other energy reading could be here watching us right now and we wouldn't even know it." Natasha stated matter-of-factly. "What's to say it won't attack us now that we know it's there?"

Barton shook his head, "No I don't think it would attack us. All the claims of harassment stopped after the arrival of the second source. With those beast gone it or even they may not see us a threat."

"What about him?" the quiet comment coming from the unusually silent Captain America caught their attention.

"What about who?" Natasha asked, but rather than answering he just simply looked down to the limp form in his arms. It would seem that everyone had forgotten about the lad. "You mean the kid?"

"Yes." Steve gave the boy a hard concentrated look, "Think about everything we know. Villagers claim of an unknown entity attacking their town, which we can assume were those sand horses. Then another entity shows up, the attacks slow down or in some cases stop all together. Banner found one of those creatures locked in ice and somehow released it, he then transformed and followed it. By the time we caught up with him he was defending the kid from them."

He paused for a moment to let his information sink in, when he was meet with silence he glanced up at their contemplative faces, "Bruce."

Banner locked eyes with the Captain, easily he read the question that was stirring behind them. "If you are wondering, I don't know where he came from. It's all really hazy, but I could feel the other guy change his focus from the beasts to him. Like there was a shift in priorities."

"Wait, a shift in priorities, the Hulk?" Natasha bulked at the concept. Her eyes drifted over to the unconscious teen with a smirk, "I don't know who he is, but that is quite a feat to accomplish." Her head quickly snapped back towards Banner, "No offence."

"No your right, it's almost impossible to stop the other guy when he gets on a rampage. For him to willingly switch his focus from attacking to defending a total stranger is baffling." It was hard for the others to tell if Bruce was intrigued, amazed, startled, or afraid of Hulk's decision to save the boy.

"So in short this kid could be the second signature that we are looking for?" Barton summarized for the group. "Is there any way to verify that?"

"Well sure, we just need to do a scan of his person to see if he radiates a signature reading. Though if Tony can't pick up anything at this close of a range, then we might have to do so back at the ship."

Natasha crossed her arms and shook her head, "Fury is going to be pissed. Not only did we not detain the main cause of all these issues, but we are bringing in an unconscious and injured kid who may or may not be the second target."

"Fury would be more upset if we had a possible lead and left it unchecked. I say we just take what information we have and return to base, we can go from there." Barton stated; it was a plan that everyone seemed to agree with for they all nodded their heads.

"I have a question." Stark's normal voice suddenly rang over the group form the back. With his visor raised to expose his face the team noticed a sort of blank look on his face, but there was a glimmer of teasing shinning behind he now revealed eyes.

Natasha rolled her eyes at his antics, "I know I am going to regret this, alright Stark what's on your mind?"

His eyebrows shot up in an all knowing smart ass sort of way, "Since all of you seem to be neglecting to ask this question I just thought I would. How did the kid get that hurt?"

If there was a picture to go along with the word dumbstruck in the dictionary, it would most likely be the look on the group face at this moment. Sure they all internally asked themselves what had happened, and of course the thought had crossed their minds to ask. However none of them did, Tony gave a look to Banner who scrunched his eyes in confusion. "Wait you are saying I did that?"

"No of course not, I am merely stating facts as I see them. You are an intelligent man, with all the facts at your feet you can easily piece the piece of this puzzle together like I did."

Banner looked at the kid and thought over the information before pinching the bridge of his nose with a sighed, "Oh man…for the record I didn't know he was there."

Steve surprisingly enough caught on to the conversation quicker than the others did, "Wait so you are saying that this kid was knocked out by the Hulk?"

Banner grimaced, "The other guy may have had something to do with it. I am just saying that it was not intentional by any means."

"Well that explains a lot. Hulk has a lot of power behind his punches, even if this kid was hit by a passing blow the results could be very bad. It could explain his current weak health condition" Steve deduced. He knew it hurt Banner to hear that he could be the cause of the kid's current state, but he had to call it.

"Then shouldn't we be getting back to the ship and have him looked at rather than standing here talking about theories and plans?" Natasha blurted out.

Steve turned on his heels and sprinted towards the air craft, his team following him close behind. It was time to head back to base.

~Author note's~

So that is a wrap for this chapter. Again I apologize for the lateness. I am updating the next chapter by Friday the latest so be on the lookout. I know this wasn't the most woo-hoo of chapters, but at least it's something.

Feel free to drop me a pm or review. Have a good day!

~Skye out


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes

I read all of your reviews and I am soooo happy that all of you like this story so much. I am not worthy of your praise. Thanks! Also, for the record: I would never ever abandon one of my stories. Sure I may take a while to update, but be assured it will be updated.

So like I promised I am posting the next chapter in this story. I am not trying to rush, but I am going make a conscious effort about updating this more often. It is not right for such loyal and wonder readers such as your selves to be put on hold. J

I know you all might want more of Jack right now, so you should have that somewhere in here and a lot more later on.

SO without further ado~

Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG or Avengers

* * *

Chapter 4: you're kidding

Fury had gotten the call that his team was coming in, but he was disturbed to hear that they had requested the medical bay to be prepped for use. This mission was supposed to be a simple in and out operation, for someone to have been hurt enough to require medical attention seemed preposterous.

Sure, there was the off chance that something could go wrong. He did after all; order them to detain any suspicious people. They probably either underestimated their opponent, or they were carless and one of them got hurt. Neither of these options seemed very plausible to him. Regardless he was going to be chewing someone out, that was a given.

A sudden beeping alerted him to a call over his com, "Sir the Quinjet has just landed."

"Thank you Agent Hill, please inform the Capitan that I would like to speak with him."

"Actually sir, he has requested your presence in the sick bay."

"Who has been injured?"

"That's just the thing sir, I have no idea. All vitals of our members check out at 100%, yet they still insist that there is an injured member amongst them."

Fury closed his eyes and gave it some thought, "did they report bringing on a civilian, or perhaps someone into custody?"

"…"

"Agent Hill?"

"Sir, reports state that five Avenger's and one unknown person were in route to the Hellicarrier. There were no changes to the report since that time." Her voice was a little more confused than it was before.

"So there was someone else on board?" he attempted to clarify

"Well…"

"Speak up!"

"According to their log, yes."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Fury huffed in frustration. Agent Hill was a great agent, but at the moment he was not in the mood to decode her hidden message.

"Sir when they departed from the plane only five people exited. It was believed that the sixth person was still on the plane, but the dock manager gave it the all clear."

"So when exactly was I going to be informed of all this?" Furry growled in frustration. "There was obviously a miscount and the missing person is with our group in the sick bay. Contact our team and let them know I am headed there now.

"Yes sir." All was silent as the link between their coms was silenced once again.

Fury rose from his chair and exited the room at a brisk pace; he was going to get to the bottom of this right now. Excuses the group could give him ran through his head. He was preparing for any possible counter imaginable.

Upon nearing the infirmary the sounds of a heated argument echoed past the door and down the empty hall. If the amount of intertwining voices were anything to go by, then every member of the team was arguing with the medical staff. That alone was enough to spark the Director's curiosity.

As the automatic doors reacted to his approach his voice carried into the room, "What in the world is going on in here?!"

Everyone snapped their head in his direction, a varying range of emotion played out on each of them. Steve's face held the most anger out of the group; it was closely mimicked by Natasha and Clint. Those two seemed to have a more insulted aurora about them then anything. Stark also look insulted by the constant twitch of his right eye, but his face held a contemplative look to it. Banner looked less angry than the others, but that was to be expected. Even if he wanted to be upset, he was most likely down playing it. If anything he seemed to be the most in control of what was happening than anyone.

Other than his team the other people in the room was his med staff; a gentleman in his late thirties, a young man in his mid-twenties, and a young lady in her early twenties. Easily he recognized them as the primary physician Karl and his two assistants Larry and Pam. Karl looked insulted, agitated and downright confused. Larry looked frustrated beyond belief, and poor pam looked like she was ready to bolt form the room.

"I am not going to ask again." Fury spoke again.

"Sir I believe your team has suffered from some sort of mental break down while out on your mission." Karl huffed out.

"I can assure you that our mental capacity has nothing to do with you being competent enough to handle the situation." Stark rebuked.

Red pooled into the doctor's face at the blatant slap in the face, "Are you saying I am unqualified to do my job?"

"Well perhaps this job." Stark retorted.

"That is it; I want you out of my ward immediately. I do not have time to deal with your insults and immature games!"

"Now wait just a minute, we came here for a damn good reason. This isn't some game! If you would just listen to what we are saying."

"And I am telling you that we have no idea of what you are talking about." With a quick pause he continued. "Look, there are a lot of people with real issues that need attending. So if you wouldn't mind."

"This is getting us no where." Natasha mumbled in irritation.

"Alright, enough!" Fury interjected. "I don't know what is going on but it ends now. Rogers; explain to me why you all feel the need to harass one of the finest medical doctors I know. You all seem to be in perfect health."

Rogers straightened his posture and gave Fury a straight-I'm not bullshitting you-face before speaking, "Sir, on our mission we came across one of the sources of the energy readings. We were able to gather some information and samples, but couldn't bring 'them' in."

Fury caught the word them and took note, but he did not want to stop the Captain just yet, "And the other source?"

"We are not certain yet, but we think the other source is actually coming from this young man." Steve stepped back so as to give Fury the full view of the boy on the examination table.

Fury approached the table cautiously and looked about the boy with a calculating eye, "You think?" was all he said.

"We couldn't verify at the time due to the over abundance of energy waves from the first source. So the best decision was to bring him back here and administer the scans while he received first aid." Banner spoke up this time.

Fury tilted his head to look at Banner before looking back at the boy, "I hope you know what the implications are if you're wrong about this."

"We understand sir, but we wouldn't have done so if it wasn't necessary." Natasha confirmed with confidence.

"I can see why you brought him here." He took the chance and let his hand brush away some of the boys hair to expose the ever obvious bruise. "This kid looks to be in serious condition."

"What are you talking about!?" the voice of Karl erupted in the corner.

"That is a question I should be asking you. These people brought you a patient who needs your immediate attention and you are worrying about your qualifications." Fury interjected the agitated man.

"Sir, you must be joking." He looked at the examination table and shook his head with a sigh.

"Do I look like I am joking to you?" Fury stood taller and took an intimidating step forward.

"I can not believe this! You are asking me to do the impossible!" Throwing his arms in the air the doctor practically exploded.

"What is so impossible here? I am not going to do your job, nor am I going to claim to know much, but as far as I can see the patient is suffering from: contusions, head trauma, mild abrasions, and small lacerations about parts of his person. Most of this is small scale and easily taken care of. If anything it is his head that is the main concern which could be assessed with a few tests."

"Does anyone else see this as a kid being punished by his father?" Stark joked to the group.

Clint and Rogers gave a small smirk but refused to laugh, they new better than to insult the doctor any more than necessary. Natasha rolled her eyes but Banner didn't mind giving a light chuckle. Fury-who had caught the jab-refused to acknowledge the comment, instead he decided to raise his voice a little more to trump Starks whispers.

"Well doctor?"

Baffled and shocked the doctor looked from the table to Fury and then over to his assistants. Much like Doctor Karl the assistants made the same motions of the head. When they looked at one another they just shrugged their shoulders in confusion.

"I can not deal with this right now." The doctor mumbled into his hands.

"Excuse me?" Fury looked ready to go off until the assistance spoke up for once.

"Sir, I-I don't mean to be rude or to speak out of place but you are wrong." Pam was the first to speak, and she looked for Larry to back her up. Much to her relief he did just that.

"I must agree with her; you see no matter what you or your team say's, there is absolutely nothing either we or the doctor could do to help."

"And we are back to where we started." Clint rubbed the back of his neck in an agitated manor.

"So you are saying that you are going to just sit there and let this boy suffer, or in the worse case die on your examination table." Fury said in a clipped voice.

This was the last straw, the Doctor had it. "What the hell are you talking about?!" he pushed past his assistants and stomped over to the table. With his hands raised he yelled out, "THERE ISN'T ANYBODY HERE!" and then promptly slammed them down on the table, right where the boy was laying.

Everyone went to lunge forward and stop the man from causing harm to the boy, but halted in there tracts when his hands went **_through_** the kid and contacted the metal surface beneath him.

"What the hell?!" Clint yelped in surprise, as he was the closest to the table and could see everything clearly.

"How did you do that?" Natasha shuddered in disbelief.

"Just when I thought nothing else would shock me." Steve stated to no one in particular.

Stark and Banner looked torn between being shocked and wanting to investigate what was transpiring before their eyes.

"There is clearly something wrong with all of you! You claim to see a boy right here, but as you can see-"he slammed his hands down producing a metal booming to emphasize his point "-there isn't anyone here at all."

When everyone stared at him like he was absolutely insane he slid his arms off the slab and let them dangle by his side. "Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go outside where things make sense to get some air. If you all would like me to give you a head exam when I return, I will."

No one moved to stop him as he quickly exited the room. Larry and Pam gave each other a nod and headed towards the door. Both of them made sure to give the group-and the now creepy table-a wide birth. When the door slid closed behind them the room became eerily quite.

All eyes were on the table, and the boy they knew nothing about. A question unspoken hung in the air like a bad taste in their mouth. Who exactly was it they brought on board their ship?

* * *

Pitch stirred within his lair as his stallions flew in at breakneck speeds. Their insatiable ruckus only accomplished to give him a pounding headache. As much as he wished their neighs were that of accomplishment, he knew that they had failed in their mission. Much like they have done the previous night, or every night for that matter.

"Will you stop with all that noise!" he screamed into the endless caverns.

Upon his request they hushed them selves, but that did not still their nervous shuffling. Pitch gave an exasperated sigh before strolling into the main hall of his lair. Mares adorned the cliffs and crags like a pack of hyenas in a den. Eyes of gold watched him glide across the grey stones with worry and apprehension. It was clear that they feared his wrath, a wrath that came down upon them in full when they failed him.

"Let me guess, Jack got away from you all…again."

One brave horse stepped out of the shadows to answer his master's question. Pitch translated its snorts and whinnies as it began to tell its tale. At first Pitch was not all that shocked to hear how Jack had turned the hunt into a game. It was to be expected of the Guardian of Fun. Then as the report began to recount of his accomplishment in dwindling their numbers, he began to get slightly more agitated. It wasn't until it reached the point where the Hulk appeared did he become fully enraged.

Without much care he swiped his arm at the mare in rage; recoiling, it turned back into sand and slunk back to the shadows with its brethren. "The Hulk?! That 'Hero' of the people dubbed 'Avenger' helped Frost!? How is that even possible? He is a mortal adult, and a_ scientist_ on top of it all! There should be no way that he could see him or you!"

On horse grunted in the dark, this only furthered angered the king. "You mean ALL of those Avenger brats could see him?! I swear it's not one thing it's the next."

Pacing around the room his mind whirred with calculations, he was going to have to do a lot of damage control if his plans were to succeed. In the distance a quick jittering horse gave some information to the king that easily switched his mood from angered to enlightened.

"Really? That may just be the bit of news I needed to hear." With a smirk he pointed to a group of awaiting Nightmares, "Go to where Frost is and find out his condition, then report back to me. Don't let those meddling fools spot you; I don't need them following you back here."

As the group departed he couldn't help but give a hearty giggle, "So Jack Frost was knocked out by his own saviors. I wonder how the Guardians will take this little bit of news." Glancing around the room he raised an arm in a questioning fashion, "Tell me, should we drop our 'friend's a little hint about their precious child's plight?"

A thunderous pounding of hooves and neighing erupted into the air; Pitch couldn't help but smile, "My thoughts exactly."

* * *

Author's notes

Ok all, that's it for now. A lot is about to go down here in the near future. So hang on tight.

I hope you all liked how this turned out. I wanted to try and update this again like I said I would. I think it turned out ok.

Please feel free to drop me a pm or review. All of your comments are loved and appreciated. It makes writing all the more fun.

Also, if you all happen to see some spelling errors I am apologizing now. It is my one major flaw. I could be staring right at it and not notice until someone point it out to me, but hey I'm allowed a little mess up here and there right?


	5. Chapter 5

`````````Author's Notes`````

Here we are once again, back to the story full if questions that are just dying to be answered. I like to thank all of you who have read, reviewed, favorite, and followed.

Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG or Avengers.

* * *

Chapter 5: Rise and Freeze

Silence filled the room to an uncomfortable level. No one even made an attempt to move from where they were stationed, as if doing so would somehow make the situation worse. It was finally the stoic voice of director fury that snapped everyone back into reality.

"Banner, how quickly can you get the system set to scan the boy?"

"I can have it ready in twenty."

"Stark, help Banner and see if you can't cut that time in half. I want to know exactly what it is you have brought on board my ship." He finally tore his eyes from the sleeping form to glance about his team. "As for the rest of you. I want you to compile a full report and have to me within the hour." When no one made a move he frowned.

"That means now people, or do you have other pressing matters to attend that I am unaware of?" Clint tore his eyes away from the exam table to look at the increasingly annoyed man; giving a quick nod he exited the room. Natasha had taken note of the movement and hurried to follower her team mate from the room.

Steve, Stark, and Banner were all that remained standing. Steve stood tall and walked over to the table and gently scooped the boy into his arms. "If it is all the same to you sir, I fill that it is best if I stay and help Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner."

"Bruce and Tony are more than capable of handling themselves, what I need is the information you have gathered."

"Which you will have after I have helped them." His eyes bore into their directors with great determination. "I am not questioning your orders sir; it just seems best to have someone who can act instantly if the kid wakes up and is hostile."

Fury gave the Captain a long hard look. "Very well, you made your point. If it is determined that he is the source of the second reading place him in our holding cell. If he wakes up before the tests are done and shows hostility the same applies."

"And if he isn't?"

"Let's just wait until we have our answers. Now get going, the sooner we know what we are dealing with the better." Not waiting to see Rogers's reaction he turned on his heels and left the room.

"You know, sometimes I really don't understand that man." Steve stated aloud.

Stark chuckled before moving to the bigger man's side, "Give it up Cap, that man is about as readable as a brick wall."

Banner shook his head, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "You know there are a lot of walls out there with writing on them?"

Starks head rose a little higher, his hand waving off the comment like it was a pesky fly. "Yes, but who would be crazy enough to spray paint Fury? Not that it's impossible; you would merely have to catch him on the left."

Stark and Banner continued their debate on what they deemed would be 'the best way to deface the man in charge' all the way to the lab. Steve couldn't quite get himself to join in on the witty conversation-mainly because he was not going to attempt to match their strange way of thinking-but he also couldn't tell them to knock it off. Not only was it kind of funny, but it helped to get their mind off of the problem at hand.

Stepping to as the entered the room the two men immediately got to work. Each had taken a computer and started to type and shuffle screens at an amazing rate. Complicated words and code were displayed from a large projector over a steel table. Steve tried his best to understand what it all was saying but found that it was best to just give up. Computers were never really his thing.

"Alright, the system is warming up. Go ahead sit the kid down here Rogers." Banner patted the table gently and moved in front of another computer.

"What exactly are you going to do here?" Steve inquired placing the boy softly on the steel.

"Well, first we are going to scan his person for any sort of readings. If the information Tony gathered earlier is anything to go by, then we should get an alert quickly. From there we will analyze the data and see what we come up with." Banner looked at the man out of time and took in his ridged posture. "Don't worry Capitan, nothing we do will hurt him. I wouldn't let it."

"I wouldn't be too worried about the kid Capitan."

Stark's remark had Steve looking at him with a furrowed brow. Stark raise an eyebrow looking completely unfazed by Rogers attitude, "Think about it. This kid possible took a head shot form Big Green and was only knocked out. If you have been paying attention, all the damage he was dealt has been steadily getting better. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is up and running around within the hour. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of someone who can bounce back this fast."

Steve gave a short nod and stood back a few feet. Stark had a valid point now that he looked at the situation as a whole? He was worrying about a boy that he knew nothing about; he could very well be an enemy. Still, there was just something about this kid that he couldn't shake. Something he felt that he should remember.

"Alright everything is set, ready?" Banner called from the corner. Stark's reply was him slamming his hand down on a series of buttons. Two large metal bars swiveled over the table and descended down. One hung above his head as the second swiveled to his side to hang vertically. As they hovered a foot over the prone boy beams of blue light shone out from their surface. Starting at the top of his head they moved down his person until it reached his toes. Making a quick pivot motion the vertical bar changed sides and the process continued in a reveres motion. This process repeated itself twice before the scan was complete.

As the bars receded back into the ceiling, Stark and Banner were pouring over the data that was appearing on the computer. Steve was preparing to approach the boy again until Banner hummed loudly.

Instantly on the defensive Steve rushed to his side and peered at the screen, "What is it?"

"This data is so strange."

"How so?"

"Well you see this here?" he pointed to a few formulas on the screen to which Steve nodded. "It's indicating that there is a missing variable, so the scan couldn't be completed. Yet, on this screen…" he hands scroll over to a minimized window. "…it is saying that there is an energy rating that goes through the roof."

"How can there be something missing if the we have a reading."

"It's the formula." Stark proclaimed across the room. "Bruce, run the formula through the system but eliminate the life form equation. Treat it as if you're testing the sands and not a person."

Banner did as he was told and entered in a strand of symbols, numbers, and letters. After a brief moment of calculating the screen produced a completed test. Banner slowly pulled of his glasses and turned to look at a smirking Stark.

"That is impossible."

"Okay, I am missing something here." Steve looked between his fellow Avengers with utter confusion.

"Its simple the computers were scanning for any anomalies and energy readings in a human subject. We had entered the hu- er life form equation so that it knew what it was looking at and what to ignore. The system was unable to complete the test because it couldn't locate the subject." Banner finished with a sigh.

"So you are saying that the kid went undetected by the computers, and you eliminated him as a factor to see if you got the same results?" Steve reiterated. Banner nodded and looked to Stark.

"First the confused town's folk in Germany couldn't identify the source of their help. Then doctor and his assistance in the bay couldn't see or touch the kid, and now the computers claim there is energy but no life form. I'm beginning to think we may be in over our heads."

"Sound to me like this kid is a ghost, but can't be it." Steve half chuckled.

"I'm not willing to rule anything out at this point." Stark walked over to a cabinet-ignoring the shocked man's face-and pulled out a silver bag and ripped it open. "Blueberry?"

"Stark you can't be serious. You really think this kid is a ghost?"

"And why not? We fought aliens a little while back, Banner here is our resident Doctor Jackal, and a God is on our team. Why even you are something of an enigma, what with surviving the ice age. Who's to say there isn't ghosts?"

Steve began to protest until a soft groan broke him of all thoughts. Turning quickly and steadying himself for an attack he let his eyes rest on the stranger on the table. He was waking up.

* * *

_'Darkness. Deep thrumming darkness. A feeling I haven't felt for such a very long time has returned. How…how long ago was that? Fifty, ninety, a hundred years ago? Or was it longer than that? Why does this trouble me so much? It's not like I haven't felt this lonely dark before, so why now does It feels as though I'm…forgetting something. Now wait…lets calm down and think about this for a minute. I'm asleep or unconscious, I'm invisible, I'm immortal, I'm alone but am friends with the wind, I am a winter spirit, and my name is… _

_ …my name is…_

_ …_

_…what is my name?'_

Jack's mental recapping froze as that one single notion echoed throughout the confines of his mind. Panic prickled at his core the longer he kept repeating the question. His name was something he had cherished, for it was the one thing **_he_** had told him. The only thing **_he_** told him. Which brought up the second notion, who was **_he_**?

A voice from the past so lost to time, no longer held the strength it once did. He was sure that it had been there to tell him what his name was. Now that he tried to recall what it said he just couldn't grasp it. There was importance behind his name. He just couldn't figure it out lingering here.

Determined to learn wake up and learn the truth he focused greatly for any way to reach the world. As luck would have it a few voices at the edge of the darkness caught his attention. They were soft, unfocused and difficult to make out. Yet, knowing they were there gave him hope. As long as they didn't leave he could lock onto them and pull himself out of this rut.

Straining to hear what they were saying he felt his world of darkness clearing up. It wasn't long before the fuzzy filter on his ears vanished all together. It was clear that there were three grown men in the room, and they were heavy into a debate about something he couldn't quite grasp.

Mentally celebrating his accomplishment thus far he switched his focus from sound to sight. With a great deal of effort-and a few painful moans- he's finally able to see the world around him; and it was not what he expected at all.

* * *

Jack stared up at the white ceiling completely perplexed. Surly he should be staring up at the cloudy blue sky and shining sun; not white walls and florescent lights. Catching movement out of his peripheral the turned to see the three men he heard talking.

Each of them were staring in his direction with an air of tension in there stance. Confused at what was causing their stress he looked about the room for its source. When he couldn't find one he looked back at the group.

"What are they looking at?" Jack mumbled loud. At the very moment the words left his lips each man gave a slight jump.

Steve found his voice return to him at the young mans words, "Were looking at you."

Jack's face scrunched and he looked about the room again. Looking back at Steve he frowned. "Do all grown ups talk to themselves?"

Now it was Steve's turn to be confused. "I'm not talking to myself, I'm talking to you."

There was an awkward pause as no one said a word. Banner found it almost comical to see the wheels in the young mans head turning. At this point he is willing to bet this kid was as big of a threat to them as a puppy. At least that was what he thought until the boy finally processed the words spoken.

Jack's eyes flew open as wide as the possible could. With very little effort he swung his legs over the table and sat straight up. "You…you're talking to **_ME_**? You can hear **_ME_**?" he pointed to himself, and when he got an affirmative nod from all of them he broke into a wide smile.

In his excitement he popped off the table and began shuffle hopping before them. He wanted to talk to each of them but he didn't no what to say or who to address. Before he knew it he was spouting what ever came to his mind. "This is amazing! I mean you can actually hear me, and you're responding! Wait, can you see me?" he moved a little closed towards Tony waving his hand.

Steve tensed at the sudden closeness of the unknown kid and his team mate. Stark however did not catch the tension and waved the boys hand out of his face, "Of course we can see you. Why wouldn't we?"

Now if they had thought the boy was excited before they were clearly wrong. Jack's laughter bubbled up and out of him into the room. With a big whoop he did a floating back flip and landed effortlessly onto the exam table. In a crouched position he giddily looked over the shocked faces of his hosts.

"How did you do that?" Stark commented.

Jack's head tilted slightly, "Do what, back flip? Its easy you build up tension in your legs…"

"Not that, how did you float unassisted?"

"What you mean fly? I've always been able to do that." Giving Stark a cheeky grin he couldn't help but feel excited. "Alright my turn, how can you see me?"

Bruce walked forward and looked the boy over with a scrutinizing eye. "I don't know. Clearly you and quite a few others think we should be able to. Perhaps we can answer that once we have a bit more information. Tell me why is it we _shouldn't _be able to see you?"

"Well first off you guys are all adults! I have never heard of one seeing a mythos, let alone three! You guys must really be in touch with your child hood."

"What's a mythos?" Steve inquired.

Stark popped a once forgotten blueberry into his mouth, "Well technically it means the pattern of basic values and attitudes of a people, characteristically transmitted thought myths and the arts."

Banner turned to Stark and smirked, "Like a sociological complex of beliefs, values, attitudes, supernatural forces and characteristic of a specific group or society. In simple it is referred to as mythology."

"Exactly! Though, that is based on the premise that twinkle-toes is talking about the same thing."

Steve rubbed his temples with his fingers, "Seriously don't you two ever grow tired of knowing everything?

"We hardly know everything Captain." Banner chuckled "But I do thank you for the compliment."

Jack chuckled at the interaction between the men before him. "Well In short they are both right."

Steve turned to the kid and cocked an eyebrow;" Alright so a Mythos is a myth…"he paused and waited for an affirmative nod which he received. "…and you are saying that you are one of these myths?"

Jack nodded and especially waited for him to continue. "Well, what myth are you then?"

Jack smile broadened, "Well that's easy I'm…"

All three men sat there waiting for him to continue but he never did.

"You're who?" Steve probed.

Jack's eyes locked with Steve's and all the joy drained from his face. "I'm…I…"

"Kid?"

The group looked to each other before Stark stepped forward, "Look I know we are strangers but you can tell us, we won't judge you."

"That's just the thing, I can't remember." Jack looked into Tony's eyes with hope. "I don't know why I know this but…you can see me, so you have to know who I am. Please tell me, who am I?"

Stark blinked once. Twice. Three times, then turned and looked squarely at Banner. Banner face palmed, "As if things couldn't be worse."

Stark smirked, "Well look at the bright side, he isn't dead and is getting better."

"So what do we tell Director Fury?" Steve questioned.

Stark turned back to the kid, "Hey kid. Are you going to hurt any of us?"

Jack looked appalled, "No! Why would I want to do that?"

"What if I told you that you can't remember anything because a big green friend of ours knocked you silly; and that we brought you here to run test to see if you were evil?"

"Stark!" Steve snapped.

"What? I'm only telling the truth, besides he would find out eventually and this is the quickest way to get you your answer."

Jack gave a small smile, "Oh is that all? Well don't worry about that."

"You're not upset?" Steve looked on the teen in confusion. A normal teenager's reaction to Tony's revelation would be hostile and boisterous. This kid however was acting like this kind of thing happens all the time.

"I am sure it was an accident." Jack looked at Banner for some reason and asked again. "It was an accident right?"

Banner nodded his head causing Jack to smile. "Well then it's defiantly okay, I'll recover eventually. As for these 'test' you want to run I am willing to help. Sound like it could be fun!"

"Well then there you have it, tell eye patch that the kid is harmless. Albeit, a power producing, flying, mythological being with amnesia; but harmless."

Jack gave Steve a very quick wave returning to his happy go luck self. Steve's shoulders slumped and his head fell against his chest with a huff. "Why do I fell like harmless is not the word we should be using for him?"

"Hey, has anyone seen my staff?"

Steve thought back to the battle earlier that day, "Do you mean that long wooden stick you were holding on to?"

Jack nodded, "Yup that's the one!"

"Natasha took it from you when we got on the Quinjet; I think she said she was keeping it under lock down until we knew if you were a threat. I'll see what I can do about getting it back to you."

"Thanks! The sooner I get it back the better."

Stark was now intrigued, "What's so special about that walking stick?"

"Oh nothing really, I just use it to channel my power."

"Channel your power?"

"Yeah." Jack held out his palm and started to twitch his fingers. After a second a small snowflake sprang into existence. "I can create my snow without it, but I find that I have more control when I use it."

"So your staff is a conductor and you're the source." Banner mused. "Is snow all you can create, or can you manipulate all forms of it?"

"Well I am a winter spirit, so I can easily create any variation I want. Frost is the easiest, but snow and ice aren't all that hard either."

"You're a winter spirit? I thought you said you didn't know who you were?" Steve inquired fully lost yet again.

"Of course I know WHAT I am; I just don't know WHO I am. It would be the same for you if you lost your memory I'm sure. You would know your human but may not know your name."

"I guess I can understand where you are coming from." Steve ran a hand through his hair, and then grunted. "Gyahh! I wish I was back in the past where things made since."

Jack found that statement oddly funny, "You think the past made more since than now? Did you have on blinders or something?"

"Sorry kid, you just wouldn't understand." Steve huffed.

"Yeah kid, Captain here is our resident man out of time. He tends to ramble on about the past which we find the best way to deal with it is to agree with his logic."

"Shut it Stark, I'd like to see you frozen in ice for eighty years to be awoken to an unfamiliar world."

Jack found him self looking at Steve a little differently. "I may not be able to remember a lot right now, but I do remember life being a little simpler back then. It's strange to think that so much can change in such a short time, so I can see where he is coming from."

Stark gave a quick chuckle, "You can try remembering all you want kid. There isn't any way you are going to remember his time. You can't be any older than what fifteen, sixteen?"

Jack tapped his chin in thought, "Hmm…I may be off by a few years, but I would say I'm three hundred and eighteen."

"See just like I said eighteen…"

"…" (Steve)

"…" (Banner)

"WHAT!?" all men looked at the kid with the short shout.

"What! I told you I may be off by a few years. It could be more like three hundred and sixteen; it's a bit foggy at the moment."

"A few? Try like three hundred." Steve quipped in disbelief.

"Okay, let's come back to age later." Banner chimed in. "I want to finish my earlier thought."

Jack rolled his eyes and looked at the scruffy man, "Just to clarify you _can_ create ice?"

"Yes."

"Then if you had that staff of yours, would you be able to create large amounts of long lasting ice?"

Jack nodded, "Of course. If I so choose I could crate ice burgs or glaciers."

"One more question. Do you know anything about large black purple sand that can shift into different shapes freely?"

This question caught the others attention, they knew where he was going with this. Jack looked a little more perplexed, "That sounds familiar, but not in a good way."

"Don't push yourself. What you said was more then enough to confirm my hypothesis." Banner nodded to the others, "this kid is without a doubt the other energy signal we were looking for. I am also positive that it was also he who was fighting those stallions, and froze that one beast in ice on the edge of town."

"Then what I said earlier was correct, the kid is harmless." Stark announced smugly.

Steve rubbed his brow and Banner gave a soft chuckle. Leave it to Stark to see a powerful three hundred plus year old winter spirit who can forever freeze you at will, as harmless.

* * *

Author's Notes

Please read this really quick.

Okay so I know that there are few things I didn't put in here. (Such as: not really introducing the character to one another.) At the moment is seen it like this: Steve, Tony and Bruce know Jack couldn't remember his name. Jack, who isn't use to conversing with people, was to happy being talked to others that he simple forgot to ask for their names. This will be reminded in the next chapter so no worries.

I hope I fulfilled a few of your wants in this chapter. Jack is awake and already meeting the Avengers. Though, I can promise you that peace amongst them all will not last long. There personalities are just too different.

Next chapter we will start to see those little differences playing out as well as the arrival of a God. What's going to happen when he finds out what happened?

Dun Dun Dunnnnnn!

Lol , well I am falling a asleep now.

Feel free to R&R or PM.

~Skye out


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